Ross & Cromarty Enterprise (RACE)has announced that it missed its own job creation targets by 150%. Why donít its board members all resign? Well, failure is not seen as a reason for quitting these days, is it? Look at Railtrack, BSE & the Millennium Dome. The message from government is quite clear: "Don't quit just because you're useless".

The quango says it is still "cautiously optimistic" about the future! Some people have thick skins don't they?

But it's not all bad news: A former Chief Executive of RACE, Sandy Cumming, is temping as HIE Chief Executive while the search goes on for a successor to Ian Robertson (off to join his mate's firm).